


Josh's Wedding

by andthestarsthatshine



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-06 00:10:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1100174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthestarsthatshine/pseuds/andthestarsthatshine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Danny went with Mindy to Josh's wedding instead of Peter? Requested by forthisistheprize on tumblr</p>
            </blockquote>





	Josh's Wedding

**Author's Note:**

> For the purposes of this fic, Richie came to visit Danny the weekend before the wedding.

Mindy was in her apartment, shaving her arms and singing along to Katy Perry, when she heard a knock on the door.

'Come in! It's open!'

Danny walked in and immediately scolded Mindy. 'Min, come on! You can't keep your door unlocked like that! I could've been a stranger!'

'Ugh, please. I knew it would be you.' Mindy rolled her eyes.

'Where the hell are you?'

'In the bathroom.'

'Should've guessed you wouldn't be ready yet. You got any food?' Danny made his way over to her fridge to peruse its contents for something remotely edible. He settled on making himself a quick sandwich while he waited.

Mindy came out into the kitchen ready to grab any food out of Danny's hands but all words died in her mouth as she took in the sight of him.  _Woah_. He was dressed to the nines in a nicely tailored black suit, a crisp white shirt and silk black tie. 

She could see his muscles trying to break free from the confines of his clothing as he worked on his sandwich and all she could think about was-NO! No, she was not going to think about Danny like that. She could not let herself have those thoughts. She plastered on a bright smile and made her presence known.

'Danny! Who knew you could scrub up so well!'

'Thanks. I think?'

'Hey, take the compliment.'

'Alright, alright. Thank you. And you. You look beautiful.'  _Beautiful?_ Danny's never called her that. And did he just wink at her?

* * *

Danny had insisted on driving the two of them, not trusting her not to damage his car by 'wrapping it around a tree or whatnot'. 

'Danny?'

'Hm?'

'Why did Richie keep asking me when I was going to have dinner with your mother?'

Danny swerved the car manically and once he had regained control she could see that he was practically drenched in sweat.

'What the hell!?'

'Sorry. You ok?'

'Yeah I'm fine. Look at you though! You're soaked in your own sweat!'

'Uh huh.'

'You still haven't answered my question though.'

Danny tightened his grip on the steering wheel and stared a little too intently ahead. 'Um, I don't know. You know what he's like!'

'Well, no, I don't. That's why I was asking you.'

'Huh. Yeah. I-I don't-I think he-I'm going to have to call that little-'

'Ok, ok. Never mind.' She decided she would drop the subject only because she didn't want to die in this car. She made a mental note to bring it up again later though, intrigued by his reaction.

* * *

Mindy entered the hall trying to exude confidence but Danny knew she was nervous. He gingerly slipped his hand into hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He smiled down at her as she looked up at him and she wondered if he always had such a nice smile. Why was she only noticing now? She tore her eyes away from Danny's when she caught herself getting lost in her own thoughts.

When she spotted Josh across the room, she straightened her shoulders and made her over to him, Danny following close behind. 

'Mindy! Hi!' Josh raised his eyebrows at her when she approached him.

'Hi Josh. Congratulations! And good luck to your almost wife!'

Josh furrowed his brows momentarily before deciding to drop the subject. He made his introductions and then turned to Danny.

'I wasn't expecting you here. Although, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I did call it.'

'What?' Danny asked, not knowing what he was talking about while Mindy looked nervously at the floor.

'Always thought you two had a thing. Said as much in Santa Fe. Guess I was right.'

'I still don't under-'

'Danny! Let's sit down!' Mindy practically dragged Danny away from Josh and, after a little searching around, sat down at their table.

'What was all that about?'

'Nothing.'

'Mindy.'

'Yes, Danny?' She affected an innocent tone as she turned to face him.

'What exactly did he say in Santa Fe?'

She sighed. She knew he wasn't going to let this go. 'He said exactly what he said five seconds ago.'

'That we had a thing?'

'Yeah. It's stupid. All that cocaine must have rotted his brain so...'

'Uh huh.'

* * *

Mindy was listening intently to Josh's speech and she felt her spirits steadily sinking. 

'Hey,' Danny said softly, waiting for her to face him. 'You'll get your happy ending, Min.'

She nodded at him and forced a smile before looking ahead again.

Danny nudged her to regain her attention. 'I mean it. You're great. And you'll find someone who will love you more than that jerk ever did. And you'll feel a thousand times more special than she will. I promise you.'

She smiled more genuinely and found herself getting lost in his eyes. As he was talking, all she could think about was  _him_ loving her more and  _him_ making her feel a thousand times more special.  _Oh God, what the hell was happening to her?!_

She barely registered that Danny had said something until she saw an expectant look on his face, as if he were waiting for a response.

'Sorry, what?'

'I said, would you like to dance?'

'Um, sure.'

He stood up and extended a hand towards her. She took it carefully before standing up and letting a smile bloom across her face. Maybe this whole wedding would be ok.

Danny led her to the centre of the dancefloor and held her in position to dance. The hand on her waist seemed to be burning into her skin and she was sure it would leave a mark. She couldn't tell whether he was just running hot in that moment or she was just hypersensitive to his touch all of a sudden.

She was surprised at how quickly they fell into a rhythm and she wondered whether they would be this quick to find a rhythm if they-no. She really needed to stop thinking about him like that. He didn't think of her like that or he at least never indicated that he did. But the way he was looking at her, eyes soft and lips twitched up into a smile, made her question her own assumptions.

Danny moved to twirl her and when she came back to meet him she lost her balance slightly, falling into him a little so that she was pressed closer to him than she was before. Neither of them moved to place distance between them and she could feel more than hear him breathing quickly. She was close enough to see every emotion flicker across his face, his dark eyes boring into hers, blurring everything around her. It was like being sucked into a blackhole. However much she tried, she couldn't escape it. 

She could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. Or maybe it was his. At this point she could barely tell the difference. She found herself leaning her face towards him, slowly and without even being fully aware of what she was doing. 

She was only pulled out of her trance-like state when Danny abruptly dropped his hands to his side, becoming aware that they were the only two left on the dancefloor and all the guests were staring at them. He took a step back and cleared his throat before quickly leading Mindy back to their table.

* * *

Josh caught up to Mindy a little later on.

'Hey. So you actually look pretty good today.'

'How dare you? I always look good. No, I look great.'

'Yeah. So you and Danny, huh?'

'No.' She held up a hand. 'There is no me and Danny. We're just friends. We're not-'

'Come on, Mindy, I'm not stupid!'

'I am not suggesting you are.'

'You're honestly not together?'

'No, we are not.'

'Huh.'

'What?'

'You still can't see the signs. It's obvious he's into you. And it's obvious you're into him if the way you were looking at him earlier was any indication.'

Josh made some excuse she barely even heard and walked away before she could respond.

* * *

The car ride back was filled with the kind of tension she wasn't used to at all. She kept finding herself glancing at Danny every so often.

She wanted to say something, anything. There was definitely a moment earlier. She felt it and she's never felt that with anyone let alone Danny.

She let her thoughts run wild again, as she was wont to do. She tried picturing what it would be like to be with him and it surprised her how clearly she could see everything the moment she let herself. Was this what she had been fighting all of this time? Was it all worth it? 

'You ok?' Danny's voice brought her out of her thoughts abruptly.

'Hm?'

'I said are you ok?'

'Um, yeah. Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?'

'Well, you're quiet for one.' He smirked at her while she lightly whacked him on the arm.

She wondered if he was choosing to ignore whatever happened earlier. Or maybe he felt nothing for her and everything that happened was all in her mind. She fell back into her thoughts, trying to think back and see if there were ever any signs of interest on Danny's part. 

Danny, for his part, was trying hard to concentrate on the road but found himself looking over at her several times. He certainly felt something earlier but he didn't know how much she truly felt. He didn't know whether it was just her getting swept up in the moment or if she felt something real. 

He exhaled sharply and tightened his grip on the steering wheel, willing himself to think about anything but the woman sitting right beside him.

* * *

By the time Danny had pulled up to her apartment, she had fallen asleep. He looked over to her and couldn't help but stare. He wanted to take all of her in, to memorise the image of her, peaceful and beautiful. He didn't really want to wake her but her head was starting to fall into an awkward angle which would surely leave her with an awful neck ache.

'Mindy?' he said softly while gently squeezing her arm. She only made an incomprehensible sound but didn't wake. He tried again, a little louder this time. He was about to try once more when she stirred and slowly opened her eyes, confusion turning into recognition. She looked over at Danny and found an odd expression on his face, one that she couldn't quite place mainly because she had never seen that before, not from him. 

He gave her a small smile before clearing his throat and looking away. 'You're home.'

'Yeah.'

'So...I'll, um...' He made some wild hand gesture before he got out of the car and went around to open the door for her.

He held out a hand to help her out and she could feel the heat emanating from his sweaty palm when she took it. She made sure she watched her step as she got out of the car, knowing that any more incidents like the one earlier would lead to things she couldn't help but fall into, consequences be damned.

He laid a hand on the small of her back as he guided up the steps to her building and she shivered at the contact. She found it hard to believe how affected her body was by his mere touch when only yesterday she wouldn't have reacted this way at all. 

They stood in front of her door, just staring at each other, their eyes communicating more than words could at that moment. She wanted to say something. She wanted to ask him if there was any chance he felt something. But she got lost in his eyes again and no words would come out. She wondered if she'd ever known how easy it was to get pulled into his intense gaze, the warmth in them comforting her to her very core.

He gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, fingers lingering ever so slightly, and gingerly placed a kiss at the corner of her mouth.

He was slow to withdraw himself away from her, stepping backwards before turning to head down the steps. Once he had reached the bottom, he turned to look at her and found her standing there, frozen on the spot. It was all he could do not to run up to her and take her into his arms.

He turned again but before he could make it into his car, he felt a small hand on his back. Mindy.

He moved to face her and all he could see in her eyes was the same look he had longed to see from her. And he knew.

She pulled herself towards him by his lapels and his hands wrapped around her waist, holding her to him, as she firmly pressed her lips against his. He found himself completely melting into that kiss, into her, and everything he had been holding inside flowed from within him.

They broke apart, eyes closed and breathing heavily, foreheads resting against one another. 

'Dinner.' That was all that came out of Danny's mouth, any chance of eloquence dissipated with that kiss.

Mindy furrowed her brows. 'What? It's late. And we-'

'Tomorrow.'

'Oh.' A wide grin spread across her face. 'Yeah. That sounds nice.'

'Ok. I'll pick you up. About 7.'

'Ok.'

He reluctantly parted from her with a quick, chaste kiss and opened his car door, using it as a barrier between the two of them lest he get too carried away. 

'See you tomorrow.'

'Bye Danny.'

He ducked into his car with a smile on his face and she watched him drive off, a grin still plastered on her face.


End file.
